Shar Pei

[bearowner]

hi

i had adopted a 3years old black male shar pei in Jan 2010and it has this skin problem as shown in the photo.

been to 3 vets who done all tests which confirmed no skin problem and feed him with vet diets for past 4 months without improvement

recently, we change the diet to no grain venison dry feed without consulting the vets and he is showered with oatmeal shoomp.

please advise on the ways to improve his coat

[Dagmar]

hi

i had adopted a 3years old black male shar pei in Jan 2010and it has this skin problem as shown in the photo.

been to 3 vets who done all tests which confirmed no skin problem and feed him with vet diets for past 4 months without improvement

recently, we change the diet to no grain venison dry feed without consulting the vets and he is showered with oatmeal shoomp.

please advise on the ways to improve his coat

I assume he was checked for mange?

Well, unfortunately Shar Pei's can get lots of health issues due to the breeding.

Is he itchy?

How is his fur, is it nice and shiny or dull and lifeless? Is he hot to the touch?

Have you tried a home made diet for him?

[bearowner]

I assume he was checked for mange? Yes

Well, unfortunately Shar Pei's can get lots of health issues due to the breeding.

Is he itchy? No

How is his fur, is it nice and shiny or dull and lifeless? Nice & Shiny

Is he hot to the touch? No

Have you tried a home made diet for him? what is home made diet suitable for him?

[Guest Pandii]

We have some great shar pei people on here

Please hang around and some will be here to help you soon

[peibe]

Are they raised lumps under the skin like pimples?

[bearowner]

yes

[peibe]

Have you looked into these two things?

Hypothyroidism

Hypothyroidism is a common complaint of all dogs. The thyroid gland is unable to function and maintain adequate levels of the various hormones needed to keep the body systems functioning. The commonest reason for hypothyroidism is thought to be "auto-immune thyroiditis". This is when the dog's own immune system turns on the thyroid gland and systematically destroys it.

Symptoms of inadequate thyroid production are varied and range from hair loss (generally symmetrical and starting with the thighs and back legs), lethargy, weight increase and inability to keep warm. Diagnosis is done via a blood test which checks for various values of the different thyroid hormones, Michigan State is the main testing facility in the United States. Treatment is simple, a daily dose of synthetic thyroid is given to the dog. Care must be taken though in monitoring the dosage and thyroid panels do need to be run on a regular basis to make sure the correct dose is still being given. Again, thyroid supplementation is something that must be done with veterinary supervision.

Cutaneous mucinosis:

As mentioned in the opening paragraph, mucin is the substance in Shar-pei skin that allows the wrinkling. For some unknown reason it can "bubble" up into the top layer of skin, forming clear blisters, generally under the the neck, on the flanks and/or on the hocks. These blisters can be broken open and will leak a sticky, clear fluid - mucin. No treatment is necessary for this condition and causes no problems. However, if the dog has other skin problems the dog can scratch the blisters open and a superficial skin infection can result. Keeping the area clean and dry will prevent infection and and treat these areas much as you would hot spots.

[daisygirl]

What exactly are you feeding him at the moment ie what brand, flavour, etc??

Also do you feed him treats?? Once again what brand, flavour ,etc.

I have heard of some Sharpei that cant have anything beef flavoured, even treats. We used to feed our two Sharpei just pet chicken mince and you can add veggies and/or rice plus they have a very high quality dry food to nibble on.

Also does he like to go swimming. Maybe some salt water swimming might help??

[Dagmar]

Have you looked into these two things?

Hypothyroidism

Hypothyroidism is a common complaint of all dogs. The thyroid gland is unable to function and maintain adequate levels of the various hormones needed to keep the body systems functioning. The commonest reason for hypothyroidism is thought to be "auto-immune thyroiditis". This is when the dog's own immune system turns on the thyroid gland and systematically destroys it.

Symptoms of inadequate thyroid production are varied and range from hair loss (generally symmetrical and starting with the thighs and back legs), lethargy, weight increase and inability to keep warm. Diagnosis is done via a blood test which checks for various values of the different thyroid hormones, Michigan State is the main testing facility in the United States. Treatment is simple, a daily dose of synthetic thyroid is given to the dog. Care must be taken though in monitoring the dosage and thyroid panels do need to be run on a regular basis to make sure the correct dose is still being given. Again, thyroid supplementation is something that must be done with veterinary supervision.

Cutaneous mucinosis:

As mentioned in the opening paragraph, mucin is the substance in Shar-pei skin that allows the wrinkling. For some unknown reason it can "bubble" up into the top layer of skin, forming clear blisters, generally under the the neck, on the flanks and/or on the hocks. These blisters can be broken open and will leak a sticky, clear fluid - mucin. No treatment is necessary for this condition and causes no problems. However, if the dog has other skin problems the dog can scratch the blisters open and a superficial skin infection can result. Keeping the area clean and dry will prevent infection and and treat these areas much as you would hot spots.

Very good reply! Saves me lots of typing ;-)

I usually send my blood serum to Dr Dodds for checking, I believe she is in California. The hardest part is to find a vet here who is willing to draw some blood so that you can send it off to the US then...

Important is to get a full panel thyroid check, the standard T3, Free T3, T4 and Free T4 tests do NOT show auto-immune thyroiditis! In fact they can show absolutely normal results and the dog can still suffer from thyroiditis. And as you mentioned, the symptoms are manyfold. Sudden unexplained aggression was the only symptom I saw in my dog.

[bearowner]

wow. he had shown some symptom for Hypothyroidism like weight gain and hair loss start from thigh. will send him for a vet to check again.hope that the vet is able to see the problem

currently, he is on Addiction Vension dry diet and not given any treat.

[bearowner]

hi all

vet had done the blood for T4 and confirmed that his result is on slightly high side.

what type of diet would be suitable for him?

he is on Addiction no grain vension dry food for about 2 weeks.